Some Concerned About Cost Of Recall Of Wis. Govenor

Concerns have been raised about the potential cost of a recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker if a petition to do so is successful.

The effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker could have a sizeable price tag for taxpayers, Statehouse News Online reports.

The recall election of nine state Senators this summer cost $2.1 million. Time and manpower must be spent to vet the signatures and operate polling stations statewide during the election itself, the news agency reports. One potential strategy for saving some money would be to hold the recall during the state's presidential primary in April, but that would require a quick turnaround by the Government Accountability Board, which reviews petition signatures.

United Wisconsin, a nonpartisan grassroots group organizing the recall effort, tells Statehouse News Online it has 200,000 pledged signatures for the official petition. A recall would require 540,208 signatures, one-fourth of the 2.1 million votes that were cast in last November's election. They plan to begin the petition drive in earnest on Nov. 15, according to the news agency, and they must deliver the signatures within 60 days.

Statehouse News Online reports the 2003 recall election in California that put Arnold Schwarzenegger in the governor's seat cost about $55 million for local election agencies.

The state Democratic Party chairman said the recall effort against GOP Gov. Scott Walker will begin on Nov. 15, setting up a likely year of expensive political battles in Wisconsin in 2012. The effort comes on top of an open race for U.S. Senate in the state and the presidential race - where Wisconsin will be a likely battleground - and sets the stage for a solid year of high-stakes politics in 2012.
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